


Vinegar

by BirchWood



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, human Lance, mermaid au, mermaid keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 19:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21307472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirchWood/pseuds/BirchWood
Summary: The first time Lance caught sight of Keith in the lagoon, he thought he was a dolphin that got trapped on the wrong side of the sand bank at low tide. Lance, then 17 and terribly heroic, tried digging at the sand with his hands to create a gap big enough for the dolphin to jump over. Instead, after getting sand up his nails for half an hour, Keith’s head popped up right in front of him and scared him so bad he fell into the water.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 266
Collections: Finished Voltron FFs





	Vinegar

Lance is pulling the last of today’s tester snacks out of his backpack and spreading them out on his striped beach towel when Keith speaks up.

“Can I have a kiss?”

The mini package of salt and vinegar chips gets crushed in his hands as he whips his head around to look at Keith. His expression is calm, as if he didn’t just ask something completely random out of the blue. He’s stretched out across the pebbly beach, upper body propped up on the towel and his sleek grey and black tail drifting lazily in the shallow water. 

The first time Lance caught sight of Keith in the lagoon, he thought he was a dolphin that got trapped on the wrong side of the sand bank at low tide. Lance, then 17 and terribly heroic, tried digging at the sand with his hands to create a gap big enough for the dolphin to jump over. Instead, after getting sand up his nails for half an hour, Keith’s head popped up right in front of him and scared him so bad he fell into the water.

Now it’s two year later, Lance is home from school for the summer, and he gets to go back to his favorite pastime. Hanging out with Keith. The merman. The merman who pulled him out of the water when he fell in and plopped him back onto the sand bank. The merman who decided to trust this lanky human when he realized he was trying to help. The merman who visits Lance when he’s home and the tide is in. The merman who brings him shiny trinkets from the sea and tries all the new treats Lance shares with him. The merman who was now asking for a kiss. 

Lance unclenches his fingers from the chip bag and lets it drop onto the towel. Keith is still staring at him, in that intense way he doesn’t realize is kinda creepy because he doesn’t blink as often as a human. Lance forces himself to laugh and goes back to digging in his bag. 

“I didn’t bring any chocolate this time, bud. But I’ll get some tomorrow.”

“I don’t mean the candy, I want a real kiss. The mouth kind.”

Lance wishes he could blame the sudden flame in his cheeks on the sun, but their little lagoon is well shaded with trees. It’s also pleasantly overcast, something Lance usually loves when it gets hot but today he mourns the loss of having an excuse. He clears his throat and pulls a cold bottle of root beer from his bag, fiddling with the peeling label as he avoids Keith’s gaze.

“Why, uh, why the sudden interest in kissing? You always said that it’s gross, because mouths are just for eating.”

Keith lifts his tail before letting it plop back down into the water, a tell of his that he does when he gets agitated or nervous. He props his head in one hand, the other dragging through the sand in aimless patterns. 

“I know, but I saw this couple in the water yesterday. They weren’t even swimming or anything, they just kept kissing. I thought about going up to scare them-”

“Keith!”

“But when I got closer I overheard them talking about a baby. Apparently the girl was pregnant, and she wanted her baby to feel the ocean or something like that. I don't know, I thought it was kind of sweet. And they just looked really happy. So, I wanted to try it. The kissing thing, not the baby thing. Baby mers are horrible.”

Lance chuckled at his disgruntled face. Lance has told him many stories about his niece and nephew when they were babies, and in turn Keith scarred him for life describing his species’ newborns. Lance couldn’t look at him or his pointy teeth for the rest of the day. 

He tries shoving the memory back into his subconscious and refocuses on the conversation. Keith has inched his way closer, snacks forgotten where he hovers over them. He stares at Keith, pretty sure he’s not even breathing, when suddenly Keith puckers his lips. It’s rather dramatic. His lips stick out as far as his pucker will allow, eyes wide open and staring at Lance. 

His brain fizzles out for a second, but then he’s laughing. His hand comes up to push Keith’s face away, laughter ringing out around them. Keith makes angry clicking noises, tail slapping at the water’s surface. It just makes him laugh harder, until Keith stops clicking in favor of grabbing his ankles, and starts scooting backwards into the water. Keith has pulled him in before, when he decided Lance deserved a little drowning for his antics, so he knows he isn’t kidding. He digs his hands into the sand and rocks and tries to stop laughing. 

“Okay okay! I’ll stop! Keith c’mon these are my nice shorts!”

Keith stops pulling at him but doesn’t let go. He also doesn’t lift his head back up from where it’s bent over, hair hiding his face. Lance’s laughter peters out into a sigh. Keith couldn’t blush like a human, but his embarrassment shone through in his body language. Lance smiles, still utterly enamored over this boy and what a disaster he was. He reaches out and runs his fingers through Keith’s drying curls.

“Keith.”

Keith tilts his head up but keeps his eyes downcast. Lance trails his hand to the side of Keith’s face, and when he still won’t look at him, lightly tugs on his hair. Keith immediately bares his sharp teeth, turning his head to lightly nip at Lance’s fingers. Despite the fact that he knows Keith could rip his entire hand off while hardly trying, the action is horribly cute and reminiscent of a baby kitten trying to fight. It takes everything in him not to coo out loud.

“Keith, it’s sweet that you want to experience what a kiss is like, but it’s your first one. It should be special, with someone you really care about. Not something you do just because you saw someone else doing it.”

He can feel his family laughing at him in spirit. He was always the most romantically inclined of his siblings, taking after his old-fashioned father who was a stout believer in roses and chocolate. Something his mother loved him for, but also liked to tease him about. 

“Times are changing, love” she’d say. “I should be buying _you_ roses now.”

And she would, just to get him flustered. 

Lance took a lot of inspiration from their relationship, because he didn’t know any two people in the world who complimented and loved each other like they did. Some people thought it was childish, but Lance really believed in a love like that. And he wanted Keith to believe in it as well. 

But judging by the deadpan look Keith was giving him, he wasn’t in a lovey dovey mood. 

He releases his grip on Lance’s ankles and crawls back up onto the towel, this time curling his tail so he could sit up straighter as he peers at the bottle of root beer. Lance grabs it and open it for him, smiling as Keith makes his usual face of distrust when he smells it. Before he takes a sip his tail flicks some pebbles up, and Lance gets too distracted by it to see the way Keith’s eyes peek at him.

“Was your first kiss like that?”

He probably should have seen that coming. He sighs, taking the drink back when Keith decides he doesn’t like it, and hands him the newly opened chip bag instead. 

“Well, I wanted it to be, but. No. Not really.”

“Why? What was it like?”

Lance leans back on his hands and looks up at the darkening clouds. He thinks it’s supposed to rain soon. Great for him, because he loves when it rains and it always helps to make him sleepy. Not so great for Keith, since the sound of it apparently hurts his ears if he’s too close to the surface when in the water. With the tide coming in, and a chance of rain, they’ll have to call it a day soon. 

He takes a sip of root beer, and considers Keith’s question. It’s not too hard to think of an answer. 

“Well, I don’t really count it as my first kiss, even though technically it was. I was about six at the time, and it happened on the school bus with this girl I had a crush on. We were just goofing off and making lame jokes and right before we got to her stop she kissed me. Happened in a blink and then she was gone.”

“If she was your crush why don’t you count it as your first kiss?”

Lance shrugs, and reaches to steal a chip from the bag Keith’s still holding.

“I guess because it happened too fast and I wasn’t prepared for it? And, to be honest, I don’t even remember her name. Just that it began with a J.”

Keith shakes the bag of chips and peers inside. 

“Well, what are you supposed to do to make it special then?”

Lance looks over to Keith, smiling at how he digs out a chip and closely examines it in his hand. He doesn’t smell it, which was probably a mistake since his whole body spazzes as soon as the sharp vinegar taste touches his tongue. He spits the crumbs out and quickly shakes his head, the fins of his ears fanning out like they do when he’s trying to be intimidating. He drops the bag and slithers back into the lagoon to rinse his mouth out. 

The water is a lot closer to his towel now, the tide rising and signaling that Keith will have to leave soon. Otherwise he’ll get trapped in the lagoon for 12 hours until the next high tide. Lance wasn’t able to visit long because he had to babysit for most of the day, but he makes a promise to himself to get here earlier tomorrow.

When Keith reemerges he’s scowling at the chip bag, which Lance picks up to keep eating while smiling at Keith. He thinks about the question, and tries to word it as concisely as he can.

“Well, it’s not necessarily the kiss that’s special. It’s the person. They’re what make it special, because they’re special to you.” 

He tips the bag up to funnel the remaining crumbs into his mouth, and promptly chokes on them when Keith says, “You are special to me Lance.”

He coughs, tiny chips pieces spewing out. He grabs the root beer and chugs half the bottle, cold and relieving against his sore throat. When he stops feeling like he’s dying he looks to Keith. He’s propped up on his elbows in the shallow water, big dark eyes peering up at him before looking away.

“Am I not special to you-”

“No no! You are! Of course you are Keith!”

“Then why can’t I have a kiss?”

Lance sighs. He recaps the bottle, gets up from the towel, and plops himself down in front of Keith. He ignores the water soaking his butt and messing up his nice shorts, and grabs Keith’s hands.

“Of course you’re special to me. You’re the most special person I know, and I don’t just mean that because you’re a cool fish person and basically a dream come true.”

Keith’s tail swishes quickly in the water before settling. Lance waits until he looks up to smile. 

“If you really want a kiss, I’d be honored to be your first. I just, I just don’t want you to be disappointed. Or, I don’t know, freaked out. This may not be a big deal to you but it is to me. I really care about you, Keith.”

Keith trills, a soft and comforting bell-like noise. It makes Lance smile even more. Keith let’s go so he can prop himself up into a sitting position again, and then re-grabs his hands. 

“I care about you too. That’s why I asked you, because I trust you. You’ve done nothing but help and care for me since we met. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about, what made that couple look so happy.”

Lance feels his face soften into something gentler, something full of fondness and love. He lets go of Keith’s hands and grabs his face instead. Keith immediately puckers his lips again, making Lance laugh. He rubs his thumbs across the thin scales on Keith’s cheeks.

“Relax a little. You don’t have to stick your lips out like that.”

Keith follows his instruction, but there’s still something about his eager expression that makes him look silly. Lance bends closer until he’s a breath away. 

“Are you sure?”

Instead of replying, Keith surges up that last inch and roughly presses their lips together. Lance’s eyes close on reflex. For a moment they’re both still, until Lance remembers that Keith hasn't done this before. He drops one hand into the water to balance himself as he leans closer, fingers gliding over slippery rocks, and uses the other to cup Keith’s jaw and hold him steady. He tilts his head to slide their mouths together. Keith stops pressing so hard, and when Lance takes a peek he has his eyes closed. 

His brows are scrunched as he concentrates, like he’s studying everything Lance does and keeping notes. 

He wants so badly to open his mouth, to taste the brine of Keith’s lips and see what a mer’s tongue felt like. See if he makes a noise Lance hasn’t heard before. But that could be too much, too intense, and he doesn’t want Keith getting uncomfortable. Doesn’t want him to end up hating kisses when it feels so nice. Doesn’t want him to think it’s any grosser than he did before. 

Wants to be able to kiss him again. 

He shifts back for a second and Keith leans after him, making him smile as their mouths press together again. He allows Keith to move hesitantly against him, holding still when Keith brings a hand up to copy Lance, letting it rest on his cheek. After a moment he moves away, and when Lance opens his eyes Keith is already looking at him, running his tongue over his lips like he does when tasting a new snack. 

It’s much darker out now, the tide rising up to his belly, and Keith almost seems to be glowing. He clears his throat, staring at Keith in silence for another moment before he finds his voice.

“Well? What’d you think?”

“...You taste like those gross chips.”

Lance splutters, embarrassed and unsure what to say. He’s about to splash water in Keith’s face just for the excuse to do something when Keith speaks up again.

“But. Other than that, it was kind of nice.”

Lance hesitates in his attack.

“Really?”

“Yeah, um. It made my mouth all tingy. It just- it just felt really good.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad then.”

He realizes they’re still holding onto each other’s faces, so he drops his hand. Keith lets his own arm fall away as he sinks deeper into the water. His tail swirls sand up underwater, making it murky as he rubs his lips together. Lance gets momentarily caught up in the shimmering sand particles, before looking around at the lagoon. The light is getting lower and the tide is probably at its peak now. He turns back to Keith who has sunken down into the water until only the top of his head peeks out, like an alligator. Lance grins at the sight.

“Hey, I think high tides in. You should head out before you get stuck again.”

Keith lifts his face up enough to be able to spit a stream of water at Lance’s chest. Lance pouts at him, but Keith just smiles. He rolls over so he’s floating on his back and glides his hands through the water so he can propel himself close enough to rest his head over Lance’s lap. He closes his eyes, and Lance allows him a moment to relax before tugging gently on his ear. 

“Hey, you wanna get trapped in here all night again? Because I don’t want to hear you complain.”

Keith huffs and turns back over, pushing himself away from Lance. 

“Alright. Walk me home?”

It’s a saying he picked up from Lance, when Lance would walk alongside the shore to say goodbye to Keith at the sand bank. At this point there’s no reason to ask, since he’ll do it anyway, but it’s a habit by now. Lance stands up, cringing over the algae sticking to his shorts, and goes to pack up their trash. He hears Keith splashing in the water behind him. Once all of their junk is stuffed away in his bag he shoulders it and starts walking to the place where the ocean spills into their lagoon. He’s just in time to see Keith jump over the sand bar, his tail glistening like silver in the low light. It’s unnecessary since the tide is in, and he usually just glides over. Lance shakes his head and picks up the pace.

When he gets there Keith is swimming in circles, trying to readjust to the colder water after being in the stagnant lagoon for a while. When he pops back up Lance crosses his arms.

“Show-off.”

Keith smiles, all toothy and knowing exactly what he did. Lance crouches down to be heard over the seagulls flying overhead.

“Any requests for tomorrow? I’m free all day so I can go to the store.”

Keith squints at his backpack. 

“Nothing that you brought today. Those were both really gross. And the chips stung me.”

Lance chuckles at his description.

“Okay. I’ll bring you some of that rotisserie chicken you like so much, and see if I can find a new dessert for you to try. What about a drink?”

“Can I have a Red Bu-”

“No! No more energy drinks!!”

Keith frowns and clicks quietly at him, eyes going doe-eyed to try and guilt Lance into caving. Usually it works, because Lance is a sucker for him like that, but a Keith jacked up on that much sugar and caffeine was terrifying.

The first and only time he let Keith have a Red Bull he kept trying to playfully bite Lance’s ankles, but he was too whacked out to realize how hard he was biting until Lance ran to the safety of the trees. He tried following at first, beaching himself and playfully snapping his jaws at Lance, but then he got distracted by a shiny beetle. Keith eventually calmed down and fell asleep, and Lance stayed with him until the tide started receding. He then woke Keith up, trying to get him back into the water. He went, quietly and sluggishly, but didn’t have the energy for more.

He slept in the lagoon that night, and when Lance returned bright and early the next day Keith was lethargic and had no recollection of what had happened. Lance is pretty sure he was just high off his mind. He only remembered loving that “buzzy drink thing”. Lance refused to bring him anything like that again. So despite the pitiful noises, Lance held firm. 

“How about a milkshake? The cafe has two new seasonal flavors you can try.”

Keith continues his pouting but still asks about the flavors.

“One is a banana coconut, and the other has mangoes and something else in it. Can’t remember for sure.”

“Hmm, is coconut that white flaky thing?”

“Yeah, but it won’t be like that in the smoothie. It’ll be blended in.”

Keith tilts his head back and forth, ear fins swishing as he thinks, before coming to a decision.

“Alright. That one.”

“Roger that, bud. I can stay for a while tomorrow so I’ll bring us a game or a book to read. Maybe even a coloring book if you promise not to eat the crayons this time.”

Keith rolls his eyes.

“They shouldn’t be that colorful if they’re not meant to be eaten.”

Lance shakes his head and stands up, joints popping. 

“Yeah yeah, you big toddler. I’m gonna head back now before it’s completely dark. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Before he can take a step away Keith’s arm shoots out from the water, hand circling his ankle. If it wasn’t for the light grip, Lance would think Keith was about to pull him in again. As it is, his webbed fingers merely rest against his skin. When Lance looks down at him he can see his tail flicking back and forth under the water, head mostly submerged. He peeks up at him, then lifts his mouth out of the water.

“Can I have another kiss?”

Lance has never been faint of heart, but he’s pretty sure he’s about to start swooning. He squats back down, and Keith lets go of his ankle to brace himself on Lance’s knees, lifting himself up closer. He lets Keith lead, lets him press their lips together, and as he breathes out a low trill rings from his throat. It’s a quick peck, and then Keith moves away and lowers himself back into the water. Lance smiles down at him. 

“Anything else?” He asks teasingly.

Keith grins back, pushing away from the sand bank and floating out towards the open water. 

“You can bring more of those kisses tomorrow, if you want.”

Lance’s laughter echoes out between them, and Keith chirrups back at him before disappearing under the water.


End file.
